1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information input/output device for a camera and, more particularly, to an information input/output device for a camera which makes it possible to carry out adjustment of an electronic circuit incorporated in a camera body or that incorporated in an accessory, as well as to carry out writing and/or erasure of stored data, with various accessories remaining attached to the camera body.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent automated cameras, one-chip microcomputers are generally mounted in their interiors, and such a camera has an exclusive input terminal for writing or erasing data into or from a memory device or a memory of the one-chip microcomputer. The exclusive input terminal is commonly provided on an exterior part of the camera or inward of an exterior cover of the camera. After the completion of assembly of the camera, an external information input device is connected to the exclusive input terminal so that the writing and/or erasure of data is performed.
However, such a conventional example has a number of disadvantages. In the conventional example where the exclusive input terminal is provided in the interior of the camera at a location isolated from the outside, if corrected data is to be written into the memory device, a time-consuming operation is needed such as removal of an exterior member from the camera or disassembly of an internal part of the camera. The conventional example in which the exclusive terminal for writing corrected data is provided on the exterior part of the camera requires addition of a part unnecessary for the operation of the camera, resulting in an increase in cost. An example utilizing a communication terminal for communication with a device electrically connected to a camera body is proposed in, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. Sho 62-7038. However, if an external communication device is attached to the camera, as in the proposed arrangement, it is impossible to attach a device which is to be originally attached to the camera, with the result that it is impossible to check the device at the same time.